Acquisition alert! FAT Brands is further tapping into the highly popular barbecue arena, revealing its strategic acquisition of the Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill restaurant chain from an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners.
“As we have spent the year focusing on digesting past acquisitions, we’ve also been amplifying the explosive growth in our polished dining vertical,” said Andy Wiederhorn, Chairman and Founder of FAT Brands. “Having a strong player in the barbecue space provides another arrow in our quiver for the polished dining segment and opens the door for additional growth strategies for our sister brands. We look forward to generating impressive results, similar to our Johnny Rockets integration, which we also acquired from an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners.”
This tactical deal marks FAT Brands’ entry into the barbecue space while strategically expanding its portfolio of polished dining chains.
According to a press release, the purchase is expected to increase annual adjusted EBITDA by approximately $10 million and bring 61 new corporate locations under FAT Brands’ umbrella.
“We continue to be selective and opportunistic in our acquisition strategy, targeting brands that are both scalable and synergistic with our existing platform,” said Rob Rosen, Co-Chief Executive Officer of FAT Brands. “We are pleased to add another polished dining brand, which will provide more options for our sales team to offer our franchise partners to further their new unit development.”
The $30 million transaction was funded from FAT Brands’ existing securitization facilities.
“We are excited to become a part of the FAT Brands family and benefit from their purchasing power and scale,” added Hal Lawlor, President of Smokey Bones. “Additionally, we see great opportunity in being a part of a leading global franchising company to further our growth with new franchised locations.”
Kroll Investment Banking acted as the exclusive sell-side M&A advisor to Smokey Bones and Sun Capital Partners on the transaction.
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